1 Maccabees

Ptolemy VI in Antioch

But the king of Egypt assembled an army as numerous as the sands of the seashore, with many ships, for he intended to trick Alexander, take his kingdom, and add it to his own.

He went to Syria with words of peace, and the inhabitants of the cities opened their gates to him. As Alexander had ordered, they came to meet him,

because Ptolemy was his father-in-law. But as soon as Ptolemy entered the cities, he stationed garrisons in them.

When he reached Azotus, he was shown the burnt temple of Dagon, Azotus and its surroundings in ruins, the scattered corpses that had been abandoned, and the charred remains of those whom Jonathan had burned to death in the battle, piled in heaps along the king’s way.

They recounted to King Ptolemy everything Jonathan had done. They hoped the king would disapprove, but he said nothing.

Jonathan went with great pomp to Joppa to meet the king. They greeted each other and spent the night there.

On the following day, Jonathan accompanied the king as far as the Eleutherus River and then returned to Jerusalem.

King Ptolemy, for his part, seized the coastal cities as far as Seleucia by the sea, for he had made plans against King Alexander.

He sent this message to Demetrius: “Come and let us forge an alliance. I will give you my daughter, who was married to Alexander, and you will rule on the throne of your fathers.

The fact is, I now regret having given him my daughter, for he has tried to kill me.”

He accused Alexander because he wanted to take his kingdom.

Ptolemy took his daughter away and gave her to Demetrius. In this way, his hostility towards Alexander became public.

Ptolemy then entered Antioch and took for himself the crown of Asia. So, he held two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Egypt and the Kingdom of Asia.

Alexander was in Cilicia, trying to quell a rebellion at that time.

When he heard what had happened, he returned to fight Ptolemy. Ptolemy met him in battle with a strong army, and Alexander was defeated.

As he fled to Arabia and sought refuge there.

Zabdiel the Arab cut his head off and sent it to Ptolemy.

But after three days, Ptolemy died, and immediately, the Egyptian soldiers who guarded the fortified cities were killed by the local inhabitants.

Demetrius II and Jonathan

In this way, Demetrius became king in one hundred and sixty-seven (in 145 B.C.).

In those days, Jonathan assembled the Jewish army to attack the Citadel in Jerusalem, occupied by the Syrians, and he prepared many siege engines.

But some wicked men who were traitors to their country informed the king.

When the king heard of it, he became angry and immediately set out for Ptolemais. From there, he wrote to Jonathan, telling him to stop the siege and see him as soon as possible.

Jonathan received the message, but he ordered the siege to continue. Then, he decided to put himself at risk and went to see the king with the elders and priests of Israel.

Bringing gold, silver, delicate garments, and other presents, they went before the king in Ptolemais and won him over.

Some traitors accused them.

But the king, in the presence of all his friends, treated Jonathan as kings had treated him.

He confirmed Jonathan’s office as high priest with all the privileges he already had. And he numbered him among his first friends.

Jonathan asked the king to exempt Judea and the three districts of Samaria from taxes and promised him three hundred talents in return.

The king agreed and wrote to Jonathan regarding the matter in these terms:

“King Demetrius to Jonathan, his brothers, and the entire Jewish nation: Peace.

We are sending you a copy of the letter we wrote to our relative, Lasthenes so that you can be informed.

King Demetrius greets his relative Lasthenes.

Because of their loyalty to us, we have decided to grant favors to the Jewish people, who are our friends and have fulfilled their obligations. We want to reward their loyalty.

We confirm the possession of Judea along with the three regions of Aphairema, Lydda, and Ramathaim, which have been annexed to Judea from Samaria, including all their dependencies. We also grant that anyone who travels to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices will be exempt from the tax the king previously collected annually from their land and produce.

Additionally, they will be exempt from other taxes owed to us, especially the taxes on their salt mines and gold crowns they formerly offered.

These privileges shall never be revoked.

Make a copy of this decree and deliver it to Jonathan to display prominently on the Holy Mountain.”

King Demetrius could control the kingdom, but no one dared oppose him. So he dismissed his army and sent all the soldiers home, except for the foreign troops he had recruited from the pagan islands. And this caused the hatred of all the troops who had served his fathers.

Then Trypho, one of Alexander’s former supporters, took advantage of the army’s discontent with Demetrius. He went to Imalkue, the Arab in charge of educating Antiochus, the son of Alexander.

Trypho convinced him to give the boy to him so he could restore Antiochus to his father’s throne. He informed him of Demetrius’s decisions and the anger of his soldiers toward him. Trypho also stayed there for a considerable amount of time.

Meanwhile, Jonathan asked King Demetrius to withdraw the troops from the Citadel in Jerusalem and to call back the garrisons from the fortresses, since they were always fighting Israel.

Demetrius answered: “Not only will I do this for you and your people, but I will also confer great honor on you and your nation if I find an opportunity.

You would do well to send me reinforcements, for all my soldiers have deserted me.”

Jonathan sent three thousand brave men to Antioch. They appeared before the king, which pleased him greatly.

About a hundred twenty thousand rebel inhabitants gathered at the city’s center, intending to overthrow the king.

Demetrius sought shelter in the palace as residents filled the city streets and started to attack.

The king then called on the Jews to help him, and the Jews rallied around him. They spread out through the city and killed a hundred thousand men on that day.

They burned the city, took great plunder, and rescued the king.

The Jews took control of the city. And the inhabitants were so discouraged that they begged the king:

“Forgive us and stop the Jews from maltreating us and the city.”

They threw down their arms and made peace. With this, the Jews merited the king’s admiration and became famous throughout the kingdom. Then they returned to Jerusalem laden with booty.

But when Demetrius felt secure on his throne and the land was at peace,

he forgot his promises and changed his attitude toward Jonathan. He no longer treated him with the same kindness as before, but began to treat him very harshly.

Intrigues of Tryphon

After this, Trypho returned with Antiochus, who was still a boy. He was proclaimed and crowned king.

The troops discharged by Demetrius rallied around him and fought against Demetrius, who had to flee.

Trypho seized the elephants and took control of Antioch.

The young Antiochus sent Jonathan this letter: “I confirm your office as High Priest and make you governor of four districts, and I include you among the Friends of the King.”

He sent him a service of gold plate and granted him the right to drink from gold vessels, be clothed in purple, and wear the golden brooch.

He also appointed Jonathan’s brother, Simon, as general from the Ladder of Tyre to the frontiers of Egypt.

Jonathan then began making rounds of the region and the cities on the western side of the Euphrates. The whole Syrian army came to his aid. He came to Askalon, and the inhabitants of that city went out to receive him with full honors.

From there, he went to Gaza, but the people there closed their gates on him. So Jonathan laid siege to it and burned the suburbs of the city, plundering everything.

Then, the people of Gaza sought peace, and he made peace with them. But he took the sons of their elders as hostages and sent them away to Jerusalem. Then, he traveled through the province until he reached Damascus.

Jonathan then received news that Demetrius’s generals were in Kadesh, in Galilee, with a large army and were planning to capture him.

Leaving his brother Simon in Judea, he fought them in battle.

Simon camped near Beth-Zur, laying siege to it for many days.

The inhabitants sued for peace, which he granted. However, he expelled them from the city, took control of it, and stationed a garrison there.

Meanwhile, Jonathan camped with his army by the waters of Gennesaret. Then, early in the morning, they went to the plain of Hazor.

The army of the pagans went out to confront them on the plain after laying an ambush for him in the mountains.

As they advanced directly towards the Jews, the men in ambush broke cover and began to attack.

The men of Jonathan’s side fled. Only Mattathias, the son of Absalom, and Judas, the son of Chalphi, the leaders of his army, remained with him.

At this, Jonathan tore his garments, put dust on his head, and prayed.

Then he faced his attackers, defeated them, and put them to flight.

So the troops who had abandoned him came back to his side, and together they pursued the enemies as far as Kadesh, where the enemy camp was; and there, they, too, pitched camp.

About three thousand pagans perished that day. Then Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.